BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Brings Updates to Docs to Go and a Brand New App: Print To Go

BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0 will bring significant enhancements to the Documents To Go® suite, as well as the addition of a brand new application: Print To Go. The Docs To Go office suite has a history of being a staple for working while on the go, allowing you to create, edit, and share Microsoft® Office documents. Print To Go makes it quick and easy to transfer in electronic format, any content that you could print from your PC to the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, instead of printing a hardcopy. Together these solutions offer you a productive and familiar way to work with files and reference important data.

For those that are unfamiliar with Docs To Go, it is a powerful mobile office suite that allows you to view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel®, and PowerPoint® files and attachments on BlackBerry® smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets. You also have the ability to present PowerPoint documents from your BlackBerry PlayBook by plugging into a projector or TV via an HDMI connection. While in presenter mode, speaking notes are visible on your PlayBook, while your presentation itself is visible from the projector or TV. Updates to BlackBerry® Bridge™ in PlayBook OS 2.0 further enhance this feature by allowing you to control “back” and “next” functionality using your BlackBerry smartphone.

Feature Improvements to the Docs To Go Suite

Editing text within Microsoft PowerPoint documents is now supported

The suite now supports BlackBerry® Balance™ for keeping corporate documents and data secure

Find & Replace functionality has been added to the Microsoft Word and Excel feature list

Bluetooth® keyboards and keyboard-shortcuts are now supported

You can now clear files from the “Recently Used Files” list

Password-protected Office 2010 files can now be accessed

When presenting, you can now use your BlackBerry smartphone with BlackBerry Bridge as a remote control to move forward and backward through your presentation

Specific enhancements have been implemented for individual applications within the suite.

While editing Microsoft Word documents, you’ll have the ability to create and edit both bulleted and numbered lists.

Editing Microsoft Excel files includes functionality which allows you to copy, paste, and resize cells, rows, and columns. Additionally, you may view and update embedded charts and chart sheets. Lastly, a new formula wizard has been added for easy entry of over 110 supported functions.

Working with Microsoft PowerPoint files will include editing of text in in both .ppt and .pptx file formats, and also allows you to hide/show slides with basic HDMI presenter-mode optimizations. Lastly, viewing of charts within PowerPoint .pptx files has also been improved.

Introducing Print To Go version 1.0

Print To Go eliminates the hassle of mountains of paper files by wireless printing from your laptop or PC directly to your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with the simple click of a “print” button. With an easy-to-install Microsoft® Windows® application, Print To Go is added as a printer to your system. You can view, sort, and manage digital printouts from various sources like web pages, documents, emails, or other applications – all within a very slick and intuitive user interface that mimics physical sheets of paper, which was inspired by our friends over at The Astonishing Tribe (TAT).

For example, before jumping on a plane to attend CES 2012 in Las Vegas, I printed all of the planning documents and schedules that I had kept on my PC, right to my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, which allowed me to reference these files while en route. I did the same with a map of the city, as well as my flight and hotel booking information. In the office, I have the ability to quickly transfer a document to my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet for use in a meeting or a coffee shop conversation with a colleague. Taking your work on the go is quick and functional with PlayBook OS 2.0 and the Print To Go application. For solutions that allow you to print documents from your PlayBook tablet to a physical printer, look no further than BlackBerry App World™.

On to the specifics!

Print To Go version 1.0 includes the following:

A Microsoft® Windows® application that installs a virtual “Print To Go” printer onto your computer that can be accessed from any application that allows printing (e.g. Microsoft Office, web pages, image viewers, and more)

Secure wireless peer-to-peer printing from your PC to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet over Wi-Fi®, including end-to-end encryption of the documents

If you have BlackBerry Balance in use on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, all printouts are automatically sent to the secure “Work” partition

Secure printing using your BlackBerry ID

Notifications on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet when new printouts arrive

A Print To Go app on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet that allows you to view, sort, and manage printouts as if they were physical stacks of paper on a desktop

These enhancements to the Docs To Go office suite, as well as the addition of Print To Go, will truly push the abilities of mobile work far forward. Working from your tablet, especially when using a Bluetooth keyboard or an HDMI monitor connection, now provides a higher level of functionality and capability when creating, editing, presenting or sharing documents. We hope that Print To Go will not only save paper, but also help you to unclutter your work life by keeping your desk clean and allowing you to use your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet as a resource for handling printed documents.

How will you use Print To Go in your daily work? Share in the comments below.

About Luke Reimer

@Luke_Reimer is a Senior Marketing Manager at BlackBerry helping to design, launch, and manage enterprise marketing programs - particularly concerning content across digital mediums. Beyond spreading BlackBerry goodness in enterprise communities, you can find Luke cooking up a storm, out on his motorcycle (when Canadian weather allows), or digging into a good science fiction book.

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